Four decades later, the Russian nuclear disaster—now the subject of an HBO miniseries

Four decades later, the Russian nuclear disaster—now the subject of an HBO miniseries—is still reverberating

Chernobyl (2019) | What Is Chernobyl? | HBO

Chernobyl Isn’t a Story About an Accident—It’s a Story About Endless Impact

Four decades later, the Russian nuclear disaster—now the subject of an HBO miniseries—is still reverberating, The Ringer, By Michael Baumann May 6, 2019 “……….. an immense tradition of fiction about nuclear war or radiological mayhem. But somewhat paradoxically, a nuclear disaster, in and of itself, doesn’t make for particularly interesting television or film. You can’t fight radiation the way you can fire, or hide from it like you can a tornado. In the trailer for HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries, which premieres Monday night, Jared Harris’s Valery Legasov compares a radioactive atom to a bullet. Indeed, radiation kills instantly, though the process of dying from radiation poisoning can take anywhere from days to decades. By the time a nuclear accident happens, there’s nothing to do but limit the damage it causes.

A nuclear meltdown is not only more alien and irresistible than a natural disaster, it’s entirely anthropogenic. Fires, storms, and earthquakes occurred before industrialized society and will continue to occur after it ends. They can be written off on some level as acts of God, even when they’re caused, intensified, or exacerbated by human carelessness or malfeasance. Not so with a nuclear meltdown; nothing like it exists in nature. It doesn’t matter that nuclear power plants have a better safety record than fossil fuel power plants for the same reason it doesn’t matter that air travel is safer than driving: The deaths in those accidents are caused by something we all know humans weren’t designed to do. ………

even as the international cleanup effort enters its fourth decade, and even after the Ukrainian government opened the 30-kilometer quarantine zone to tourists, the legacy of the initial cover-up continues. Legasov, the chemist who led the Chernobyl investigation, took his own life on the second anniversary of the accident, leaving behind more questions than answers. In 1999, Belarusian physician Yury Bandazhevsky was sentenced to eight years in prison, supposedly for taking bribes from parents of prospective students—he says the Belarusian government was trying to stop and discredit his research into the health effects of the Chernobyl disaster. …….. https://www.theringer.com/tv/2019/5/6/18530653/chernobyl-hbo-miniseries-nuclear-accident

A grim ‘Chernobyl’ shows what happens when lying is standard and authority is abused

HBO’s miniseries about the 1986 nuclear disaster resonates with a crucial warning. (subscribers only) Washington Post 6 May 19

Chernobyl Disaster – growing up in the fallout zone, Business Insider, 6 May 19

Janina Scarlet was just under 3 years old when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant blew up.

Chernobyl was the worst nuclear-reactor disaster in history. The explosion spread toxic radiation over large swaths of Ukraine, including Scarlet’s hometown.
Scarlet said she was often sick as a child, with a weak immune system and frequent nose bleeds. She still has migraines and occasional seizures……..

Although it’s been 33 years since the Chernobyl explosion, the health consequences of that radiation exposure still plague people who lived near the plant. The Chernobyl disaster has been directly blamed for fewer than 50 deaths from radiation poisoning, but many researchers say the full death tally from the Chernobyl explosion and its lingering effects may never be known. The World Health Organization estimates that eventually, the disaster may become responsible for some 5,000 cancer deaths. …….

Kids who lived near the Chernobyl site have increased instances of thyroid cancer, and adults who helped with the reactor cleanup are more at risk of developing leukemia.

May 7, 2019 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, politics, Ukraine

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